What The Sages Knew - Ancient Wisdom from Atlantis and Self Discovery

Somewhere between legend and self-discovery lies The Sages of Atlantis. ‘What The Sages Knew’ is a short fictional story that asks a simple question: what do we sacrifice without realising it, and what ancient wisdom might help us see it clearly?
A bite-sized spiritual story for anyone who has ever felt lost, off-balance, or quietly disconnected from themselves. Uplifting, reflective, and rooted in timeless wisdom, this is storytelling for the soul.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

You're listening to Serena Grassa Podcast. If you would like to support my work, you can do so at buymeacoffee.com slash Serena Grassa. The next story is called What the Sages Knew. Lenora stared in frustration out the window at the misty day and wondered if there was something more. She had come to her favorite coffee shop, which was tucked away in the back of a bookstore. It offered some solitude from her life right now, where her home and current surroundings reminded her of all she didn't have. It was such a dreary day, and the grayness matched her mood. She took out her phone and started to scroll, hoping to somehow stumble across something that would distract her from her current miserable feelings. One hour later, the time had passed, but the miserable feeling had unfortunately not. It surprised her how late it was, in fact, and how much time had passed. She'd better be on her way to beat the evening rush hour. She hated packed trains. As she walked through the creaky floorboards of the narrow aisles of the bookstore, a book fell from the bottom shelf. Maybe that was a sign, she thought. She turned the dark brown hardback cover, and written in a fancy-looking Allura-type font, was The Sages of Atlantis. The cover and the font gave it an almost mystical feel. Her mind jotted back to last weekend when she went to an art exhibit and had seen a painting which was called Atlantis. It had caught her eye at the exhibit because of the dolphins and underwater theme. The painting had an almost magical quality about it, and she had liked how the painting had portrayed this mythical underwater place. She had planned that day in the museum to look up more about Atlantis when she got home, but then wound up forgetting all about it. Now this book had literally fallen at her feet. She turned around and walked to the cashier. That will be 35, please. Ouch, Lenora thought to herself. And although she couldn't really afford it right now, there was no question of her not buying it. Here you go. Thank you. Have a nice day. She walked along the narrow aisle once more with book in hand and was on her way. She stared at a miserable selection of food in her refrigerator. What could she possibly scrap together from this that wouldn't put her off eating completely? Perhaps the cupboard was a better bet. Noodles and a tin of tuna, it would have to be. If she mixed in some of those mayonnaise sachets she had taken from the diner last weekend, maybe it wouldn't taste so bad. She even she even had a spracha mayonnaise sachet. Now that wouldn't be that bad at all. She poured herself a large glass of water and waited for the noodle water to boil. She pulled the book out of her bag and thought to herself that she would aim to read a chapter per day.

SPEAKER_00 3:58

The way forward is to go within. What is on the outside is a reflection of what is inside. Peace can only be found by going inward first. Hmm, she thought.

SPEAKER_01 4:21

The pot started to boil over, and she rushed over to save her new ones. She mixed her tuna with her spiracha mayonnaise and mulled over how to go inward. I guess it is with meditation. She had once tried a meditation class, but she found it boring. She didn't feel like she achieved anything by the end of the hour. She hadn't even done any physical exercise, and she handed over ten dollars to the instructor. She basically paid to sit still. It wasn't a lot of money at the time, but now every ten mattered. She Googled online instructor-led free meditation and bookmarked a link to a video. I'll start today. She didn't have anything much better to be doing, to be quite honest. She hadn't worked in six months. The market just seemed to be so slow these days. She really needed to pick something up soon. She placed her empty noodle bowl in the sink, grabbed her book, and went to sit by the window, her favorite reading spot.

SPEAKER_00 5:36

There is one divine source emanating into material existence, and we are all part of that source. We are all one. Therefore, to hurt another is to hurt yourself.

SPEAKER_01 5:50

When she thought of it like that, she felt instantly more sympathetic towards others. For the rest of the day, Lenora found herself completely absorbed by the book. Her mood had lifted significantly. The book gave her an optimistic feeling that she had the power to improve her life. And perhaps it wasn't just a chaotic world where she was somehow doomed to only find herself in misfortune. She woke early and pulled back the blinds to let the daylight flood the room. She felt excited for the day ahead for the first time in a really long time. It was almost as if she intuitively knew that this book would be the answer to her problems. She looked up the link she had saved the day prior, made herself comfortable with her bedpillows, and started her meditation. It was a bit difficult to keep her mind focused on the guide, but she did her best. After pouring herself a coffee, she grabbed the book again. Like the previous day, it wasn't long before it completely absorbed her. By late afternoon, she had it finished, and one concept more than any other stuck out in her mind. It was called the Three Flames. Within each person burns three sacred fires. The will to create, the will to love, and the will to know. Neglect one and all three dim. The most interesting part of this for her is each were not separate. Each one fed the other. She reflected on her current circumstances. Had she neglected any of these? With shame, she could see clearly that she had been completely neglecting two of them. To create and to know. Why? She had become infatuated with love. She really wanted to find a life partner, and her desire was so strong that it had completely consumed her. Neglect one and all three dim, she thought again. All three dim. Her obsession with finding love, which caused her to neglect almost every other objective she had in life, had subsequently resulted in her failure at love. She cringed as she thought back over the string of bad to worse dates that she had found herself on. And of the few where she actually held an inkling of hope, the guys had disappeared. Perhaps they had felt her life was out of balance. Her desperation had no doubt exuded from her. She thought about her poor financial state. Even though she knew she needed to widen her net of opportunities with work by learning new skills, she hadn't done so because she thought if she signed up for classes and study, she would have no time to date. Apart from this book, the last time she had sat down to learn something new, she couldn't even remember. And her creative side, this was perhaps the most embarrassing for her. Her work was creative, but she had really just lost her passion for it. When she had started her career, she had days where she became completely absorbed by projects. She never felt time pass. In more recent years, she had resorted to using templates, staying safe, basically churning out output as fast as possible to just tick the box. She had really lost her sparkle. Today would be different, though. The three flames would start to burn again. In the middle of her kitchen table, she put one large round candle with three wicks for three flames to remind herself daily during her meditation practice not to let any one flame be dimmed.